Craig Clouston

 The Spotlight

You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.

Psalm 77:14

The officer listened as the radio dispatch reported a westbound motorist in the eastbound lanes of the interstate he was patrolling. The driver was traveling in the wrong direction at a high rate of speed, heading toward his position. Entering the westbound lanes, he turned on his spotlight, hoping to alert eastbound drivers to the danger while systematically looking for the wrong-way vehicle. Radio reports told him that he was ahead of the vehicle, so he slowed down.

Scanning back in the direction the vehicle was coming from, he spotted the car’s headlights, a stark contrast among the taillights in that lane. He could see motorists taking evasive action to avoid the oncoming car.

As the vehicle approached, he matched its speed, shining his spotlight on the driver-side window in hopes of getting the driver’s attention. Finally, the driver responded and pulled over. As two other cruisers pulled up, he turned off the spotlight.

Just as the light winked out, he remembered the repair order he’d issued on this car two weeks before for a broken spotlight. Trying the spotlight once again, it failed to work. Exiting the cruiser, he used his flashlight to illuminate the spotlight. He noticed the same broken bulb from two weeks ago lying at the bottom of the lens. The repairs had not been completed!

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There are those who question whether God still performs miracles. Some feel the need to explain how things happen.

Whether you believe this story or not will be determined by Who you perceive God to be. By explaining how things happen, we maintain a false sense of control over them. If we are unable to explain the how of events, we are then required to believe by faith.

God continually displayed His power among the nation of Israel during the exodus, yet they continued to rebel because miracles themselves do not ensure belief.

The story above is true. Events are related exactly as they happened. God is big enough to make a broken spotlight work. He leaves the belief part up to us.

Prayer

“Teach us to have faith, Lord. And forgive us for our doubt. It’s not always so easy to believe without seeing. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”